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wundini's review against another edition
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Read it with great interest and joy. Some of the stories I would classify as masterpieces, that are unforgettable
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, and Death
sebastianhafner's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
martina_xx's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
amcook's review against another edition
4.0
He was Beaty in the sense that he understood the importance of a rickshaw sitting under a bridge with no one around. He was not Beaty in how much he hated women. But I’ll give him this one because I feel for him that he had to live and die before Prozac. He probably would’ve been ok with women otherwise.
He knew how to tee up something so disturbing that you’d say “He is definitely not going to do what I think he is going to do.” But then an artist burns his only and beloved daughter alive so that he can be sure to accurately paint a descent into hell. Then Akutagawa goes into a coffee shop and gets coffee 500x a day despite being seemingly hard up for cash and also incredibly triggered by caffeine consumption.
I appreciate that he wrote about folk tales to say “how ridiculous” but simultaneously “this is just as true as anything else we have figured out since then.” And I think I agree with these words that I am putting in his mouth that he cannot refute. I think that’s kind of what he meant anyway.
He knew how to tee up something so disturbing that you’d say “He is definitely not going to do what I think he is going to do.” But then an artist burns his only and beloved daughter alive so that he can be sure to accurately paint a descent into hell. Then Akutagawa goes into a coffee shop and gets coffee 500x a day despite being seemingly hard up for cash and also incredibly triggered by caffeine consumption.
I appreciate that he wrote about folk tales to say “how ridiculous” but simultaneously “this is just as true as anything else we have figured out since then.” And I think I agree with these words that I am putting in his mouth that he cannot refute. I think that’s kind of what he meant anyway.
sapphic_shroom's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Somehow the hardest books to write reviews for are the ones I love the most. Often this is because I feel like I can never do them justice, no matter how I try to present them and explain why they impacted me so much.
If you're a lover of short stories and beautiful stylized writing, you'll certainly find something of value in this collection. It explores a variety of lively historical settings, offers interesting perspectives into the sociological and psychological aspects of both society and the individual, and serves as a window into the thoughts and experiences of the author himself. From the reader's perspective - looking at a chronological overview of his life and later reading his own thoughts on himself, his actions and the people surrounding him - my relationship with him was certainly complicated. While feeling frustrated at some of his comments, others made me laugh - and by the end of the collection, flipping through the last pages of Spinning Gears, it almost felt like I was going through a bout of anxiety worrying over his declining mental state.
Somewhere around the middle mark of the collection, I went out and got any translation of his works I could find - thankfully, there has been a rise in translation of Japanese literature over the past decade. I found myself enjoying his writing style so much that the thought of learning Japanese crossed my language-loving mind briefly. After all, there's nothing quite as satisfying as reading a work in its original form. I doubt this will ever happen, but it's a funny little thing that this work made me consider.
Some of my favourite stories from the collection, in the order in which they appear:
• Rashomon
• Dragon: The Old Potter's Tale
• Hell Screen
• The Life of a Stupid Man
• Spinning Gears
If you're a lover of short stories and beautiful stylized writing, you'll certainly find something of value in this collection. It explores a variety of lively historical settings, offers interesting perspectives into the sociological and psychological aspects of both society and the individual, and serves as a window into the thoughts and experiences of the author himself. From the reader's perspective - looking at a chronological overview of his life and later reading his own thoughts on himself, his actions and the people surrounding him - my relationship with him was certainly complicated. While feeling frustrated at some of his comments, others made me laugh - and by the end of the collection, flipping through the last pages of Spinning Gears, it almost felt like I was going through a bout of anxiety worrying over his declining mental state.
Somewhere around the middle mark of the collection, I went out and got any translation of his works I could find - thankfully, there has been a rise in translation of Japanese literature over the past decade. I found myself enjoying his writing style so much that the thought of learning Japanese crossed my language-loving mind briefly. After all, there's nothing quite as satisfying as reading a work in its original form. I doubt this will ever happen, but it's a funny little thing that this work made me consider.
Some of my favourite stories from the collection, in the order in which they appear:
• Rashomon
• Dragon: The Old Potter's Tale
• Hell Screen
• The Life of a Stupid Man
• Spinning Gears
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Infidelity
aceface's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
asadaniels's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
Akutagawa's collection of short stories in this book are each a testament of his writing skill, his creative energy, and his challenged soul. The selection by Rubin (translator) provides wide breadth of Akutagawa's works that I find is most appropriate for a first-time reader of the author. They vary in their historical context, their placement in the author's career, and their themes. In addition, the notes provide helpful context and clues to Akutagawa's dense writing, which one would be fair in saying makes Akutagawa's stories a bit difficult for the novice reader of modern Japanese Literature. To that, I offer the rebuke that everyone must start somewhere and that learning more about each layer of the story makes it all the richer.
It has been a long time since I first read this collection, but stories like "Hell Screen", "Rashomon", "In a Bamboo Grove (both famous of course for Akira Kurosawa's film of the same name)", "The Writer's Craft" and "The Nose" remained in my memory, even as faint reflections. I enjoyed returning to this book and find "The Spider's Thread", "Spinning Gears", and "Hell Screen" to be my favorites this time around. The first is a short but meaningful allegory of morality, the second a gradual slipping away of the narrator (really, Akutagawa) into madness, and the last a haunting tale of man's evil nature - of his ultimate demise (in Akutagawa's eyes, at least) into the farthest pits of hell. Other tales were fun to read again, but I believe Akutagawa's prose delivers its heaviest blows with these stories. Certainly, he did not have an easy life nor a cheery outlook on living.
Murakami provides an in-depth introduction that explores Akutagawa's legacy in Japanese Literature and his life overall, providing a useful background from which to read these stories. Likewise, Rubin's note at the beginning also provides context to the stories.
All in all, Akutagawa is not so much "another creative genius lost to his madness" as he is a man of his time and a writer besieged by his sensitive instincts and powerful emotions. He does little to romanticize his mental illness and so he does not provide kindling to the popular, but overly simple, idea of the "mad writer."
It has been a long time since I first read this collection, but stories like "Hell Screen", "Rashomon", "In a Bamboo Grove (both famous of course for Akira Kurosawa's film of the same name)", "The Writer's Craft" and "The Nose" remained in my memory, even as faint reflections. I enjoyed returning to this book and find "The Spider's Thread", "Spinning Gears", and "Hell Screen" to be my favorites this time around. The first is a short but meaningful allegory of morality, the second a gradual slipping away of the narrator (really, Akutagawa) into madness, and the last a haunting tale of man's evil nature - of his ultimate demise (in Akutagawa's eyes, at least) into the farthest pits of hell. Other tales were fun to read again, but I believe Akutagawa's prose delivers its heaviest blows with these stories. Certainly, he did not have an easy life nor a cheery outlook on living.
Murakami provides an in-depth introduction that explores Akutagawa's legacy in Japanese Literature and his life overall, providing a useful background from which to read these stories. Likewise, Rubin's note at the beginning also provides context to the stories.
All in all, Akutagawa is not so much "another creative genius lost to his madness" as he is a man of his time and a writer besieged by his sensitive instincts and powerful emotions. He does little to romanticize his mental illness and so he does not provide kindling to the popular, but overly simple, idea of the "mad writer."
marmarci's review against another edition
5.0
Magnífico. He de decir que mi favorito ha sido el cuento de Rashômon, breve e intenso. Cada uno de los cuentos transmite un sentimiento diferente, desde lo cómico a lo terrible. Siete cuentos (en el libro que he leído yo al menos) de lo más interesante y que se leen del tirón en un momento casi. No me extraña el prestigio que tiene este autor.